Consultations Homepage || Meeting Notes: 3 June 2003
Consultation hosted by the ACT Human Rights Office and ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs, Canberra, 3 June 2003
The meeting was attended by eight invited participants: officers from each of the host organisations, from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, from the Australian Federal Police (ACT Policing) and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs and by representatives of two community organisations. It was facilitated by Omeima Sukkarieh and Susanna Iuliano from HREOC.
1. What are your experiences of discrimination and vilification?
Participants felt that discrimination against Muslims is less of a problem in the ACT due in part to Canberra’s unique social composition.
“The ACT is a fairly educated population. It is very fortunate compared to Sydney or Melbourne.”
However, discrimination in general was still seen as a problem.
“Discrimination has no specific place. It can happen like that - at any time, anywhere, under any circumstances. People have different experiences but I think it is the attitude of the mainstream population of the country that determines the direction discrimination will go.”
Discrimination in the workplace
Workplace discrimination is an issue of concern, even in the ACT.
“99% of Muslims do not complain because there is a quiet subtle discrimination happening on all levels all the time, especially jobs. I have cases where one chap who has a degree in accounting. He has been working as a contract accountant for several banks and after 11 September it all dried up and nobody would employ him. He cannot do anything about it so much so that he sent an application to an employment agency and the girl said on the phone ‘You don’t have local experience’. And he said ‘What? You haven’t read my resume’.”
“I know a person who went for a job and sent in two applications - one with his Arabic Muslim name and a slightly different one with an Anglo-Saxon name. He didn’t get an interview with his Arabic persona but he did with his Anglo. They must not even have looked at them. They must have just seen the name and tossed it aside. After he got the job he alerted them to that. This is called security screening and it is widespread in government departments: ‘A Muslim name? Not interested’. It is widespread unfortunately. He asked me, ‘What can I do?’. I said ‘There is not a thing you can do because discrimination is a disease that has no cure unless the whole of society decides not to’.”
“Appearance too: if you have a beard you are labelled as a potential terrorist. With the hijab that person has no chance of entering the room. She might be the best person, most capable for the job but unless she can enter the organisation for an interview there’s small chance.”
In the media
Participants felt that media portrayals of Muslims are generally negative. When crimes are committed by Muslims, they felt the media exaggerated the perpetrator’s religious background.
“People were talking about an airline incident that happened the other day and questioning why that person wasn’t labelled a terrorist. Had he been, this is my personal belief, an Arab or Muslim or even a darker person it would have been a terrorist act and not a hijacking. It’s a terrible incident but something like that shows the bias in the media. Every time we hear the word ‘terrorist’, we think ‘Oh no! It’s another one from our community who has done it’.”
“The best and the worst culprit is talkback radio ... Our lives are surrounded by media. Television is more important than a bullet. Some people can’t live without it. All this is done behind the screen of freedom of the press.”
“Regardless of the number of positive stories, when you go through media clippings and look at the number of negative stories they far outweigh the positive ones.”
Discrimination in public places
Participants reported that women wearing hijab are particular targets for discrimination or vilification in public places.
“There are instances where women wearing the hijab and scarves have been spat at, abused by people screaming things at them, throwing things out of cars.”
“There have been a number of incidents that have been perpetrated since September 11th and the recent Iraq war. We [ACT policing] get reports occasionally. There was a woman wearing a hijab and had racial insults thrown at her.”
A representative from the Australian Federal Police (ACT Policing) talked about the difficulties in helping victims of vilification when there were often no witnesses to events and when victims themselves were generally reluctant to come forward and report incidents.
“It is difficult [for the police]. The way our area [the Crime Prevention portfolio] is trying to deal with it is to try to speak to Islamic communities and to look at ways of protecting their rights and looking after their concerns and issues within the communities to the best that the police can. Without having any evidence and a witness you can’t prosecute a case. So that kind of thing, it’s just very difficult to prosecute. Even when they do report it they do not want to prosecute as they do not want to go to court.”
Attacks on property
“There was a very small incident at the Islamic centre where they threw stones. I think they [police] are thinking of increasing patrols around mosques, patrol spots and embassies.”
Impact of the national security campaign
“It was a waste of money. My understanding was a lot of people were waiting to get theirs so they could send it back. It is difficult to measure the impact as we do not know the before and after. But I know that a lot of people were very offended as they feel that the government tried to not make it with an Arabic or Islamic focus but it did have. They felt like criminals and they hadn’t even done anything. The fear about the repercussions of the campaign was prevalent in the community. I was personally offended and you wouldn’t know what my religion was Muslim, Arab, Christian and I was born here.”
2. What is being done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
Participants described a number of anti-racism initiatives being undertaken in the ACT. While most of these initiatives do not specifically address anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice, they help to foster a broader climate of tolerance and respect for diversity.
Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department
Representatives from the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department described a two-pronged approach to addressing issues of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice: promoting human rights education and monitoring the operation of the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and complaints mechanisms to HREOC and the Federal Court.
“Our interest in following these consultations is to see the level of racial discrimination that is out there in the community and how effective the Racial Discrimination Act and the police handling system is in dealing with some of those incidents of racial discrimination and vilification.”
Australian Federal Police
A representative from the Federal Police (ACT Policing) discussed the importance of school and community liaison programs to build trust with specific communities and young people. Refugee children and young people are a particular target group and programs such as ‘RecLINK’ (a program under the Police and Citizens Youth Club)cater for young people experiencing or at the risk of experiencing geographic or family isolation, accommodation or vocational or education problems, difficulties with drugs or alcohol or a disability. The program gives young people a chance to participate in sporting and recreational activities.
“We have a few refugee Muslim kids who watched their parents get shot by the police in Afghanistan. So their perception of police is totally warped. So it has taken the police a long time to get these boys to come out of their shells and to talk about why they hate the police so much and for the police to say it is very different here, this is not how the law works here and to form a strong bond with these boys.
“They play soccer; they go on camps. This is called the ‘RecLINK’ Program. It’s been fantastic. It has given them a much better perspective on police.”
ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs
The Office of Multicultural Affairs provides strategic advice to the Chief Minister on issues affecting people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. It implements the goals embodied in Framework for a Multicultural ACT 2001-2005 which sets out the Territory Government’s vision for a multicultural ACT. It also works with community groups to coordinate and develop a range of policies and projects to promote the expression of cultural heritage and encourage participation of all Canberrans in public life without prejudice or discrimination.
In response to international events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, the ACT Office of Multicultural Affairs participated in a number of ACT Government initiatives such as the establishment of a hotline for community members and the production of information brochures on racial vilification. Visits by Government representative and leaders of community groups to the Canberra Islamic Centre also sent a clear signal of support to the ACT’s Muslim community.
The ACT also conducts a number of other multicultural programs and initiatives that are not specifically aimed at addressing anti-Arab or anti-Muslim prejudice but have broader anti-racism objectives. These include:
- Work Experience
and Support Program – a 12 week program to help Canberrans from
culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds enter the workforce
by giving them an opportunity to improve their skills and confidence,
as well as develop important networks within the ACT Public Service.
The Program involves four weeks of formal office skills training plus
an eight-week work experience placement within the public, private or
community sectors in the ACT.
- Administration
of the ACT Multicultural Grants Program – assists community organisations
to carry out projects that contribute to community development and cultural
harmony.
- Provision of Secretariat
Support to the Ministerial Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs.
- Assessment of
overseas qualifications for citizens and residents of ACT and Queanbeyan.
- Planning and
delivery of the National Multicultural Festival.
- Provision of information sessions for ACT Government staff in the use of interpreters and in cultural awareness.
ACT Human Rights Office
The ACT Human Rights Office administers the ACT Discrimination Act 1991. It accepts complaints about discrimination because of sex, sexual harassment, sexuality, transexuality, age, profession, trade, occupation or calling, marital status, status as a parent or carer, pregnancy, race, racial vilification, religious or political conviction, impairment, membership or non-membership of an association of employers or employees or association with a person with an above attribute.
In 2001-02, the ACT Human Rights Office received 11 complaints on the grounds of race, most from Aboriginal people. The office has not received many complaints from people of Islamic faith or Arabic-background. In the aftermath of September 11, they received one formal complaint involving a person of Lebanese background who was likened to Osama Bin Laden in the workplace. However, a representative from the ACT Human Rights Office explained that the number of formal complaints received was not necessarily reflective of the extent of discrimination involving people of Muslim or Arabic background.
“We know, in part from our community education program but also just from people who ring us up on enquiries, [that there are people] who have serious issues but are too fearful to proceed with any kind of action. What we do in those situations is talk to people about other strategies that they might be able to use within the context of discrimination law to try and deal with those issues themselves.”
One possible reason for the relatively small number of complaints on the grounds of racial vilification was the requirement under the ACT anti-discrimination law to show that vilification could incite serious hatred, contempt or ridicule. This standard of proof is similar to requirements in the NSW anti-discrimination law. By contrast the federal Racial Discrimination Act makes offensive behaviour based on race unlawful. There is no need to prove that the behaviour or comments would incite racial hatred in others.
The ACT Human Rights Office also runs community education programs offering seminars and workshops to organisations about anti-discrimination law and complaints procedures in the ACT. The office also collaborates and cooperates with other government departments on various projects or policies relating to discrimination. For example, the ACT Human Rights Office participated in the formation and development of the Australian Council of Human Rights Agencies which called on state, territory and federal governments to initiate a national anti-racism and religious vilification campaign in the wake of the war in Iraq.
3. What more could be done to fight anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice and discrimination?
There was support for an amendment to federal anti-discrimination law to make discrimination and vilification based on religion unlawful.
“Legislation is most important. To define law is fear. If there was no fear attached to it, nobody would follow it…Any legislation that has a minority content in it must be publicized heavily so that people really get to know the consequences are not good if I did this.”
A representative from the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department set out the history of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and the 1995 amendment to the Act to include prohibition of racial hatred.
“At the time that the Racial Hatred Act went through, in the explanatory memorandum the Attorney General at the time, Michael Levarch, wrote that Muslims and Jews would be covered by the broad definition of ‘race’ because in comparable overseas jurisdictions such as England, New Zealand and Canada people of those ethnic religious backgrounds had been covered and were given some measure of support. [HREOC note: Muslims have not been defined overseas as an ‘ethnic group’. For more information on this issue go to: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/racial_discrimination/Erace/index.html ]
“As luck would have it there has been case law in Australia on Jews and Sikhs but not on Muslims in any court at the federal level. So that is a big issue that everyone is waiting to see what will happen. Our estimate is that because other groups have also been protected by the racial vilification laws that the Muslims will too.”
The need to promote a more positive media image of Muslims and Arabs was identified.
“I think there needs to be more media strategies. Positive media. I’m kind of assuming that a lot of the racism stuff is coming from people that are generally not particularly open minded or very well educated. That’s a pretty big generalisation. I mean we are talking about people who listen to John Laws and are watching A Current Affair and things like that. It needs to be a bit broader for Muslims, Arabs - a celebration of the culture. I think it should be more generalist. It shouldn’t be targeted. The flavour of the month at the moment is the Muslims and the Arabs. I know tolerance is a word that is used loosely but there should be strategies, especially in the media, promoting that level of awareness across everything. It just so happens to be Arabs and Muslims now but who knows who it could be in ten years time. We need more education.”
“Communities are saying to us, ‘Look we are not victims [but] we look like victims [in the media]. We want to have the capacity to resource some skills to speak for ourselves. Help us through that and when we have the opportunity to speak for ourselves that’s the most potent form of getting through to people.”
